by Christmas is truly a time to celebrate for a lot of us during the wintertime. There are special TV episodes for our favorite series, Christmas movies, easter eggs in some video games, hot cocoa, and most of all, the decorations. But, there are some households that want to make their Christmas smarter and cheerier. So, we’ve compiled a list of Christmas lighting tips and tricks for your holiday lighting and what we think you should have for your family holiday in December of 2020!
During the holiday season, I always love to see the decorations that people put up in their front yards. Lights on their bushes, light-up snowmen, and glowing angels. But what I also see a lot is the people who have electric decorations out but don’t turn them on. Presumably because of forgetting to do so. Here are a few items that can make your outdoor decorations light up with ease. With these, you can automate your lights to turn on when you aren’t home.
TP-Link Kasa Outdoor Smart Plug
This smart plug seems basic, but you are able to control all of your lights and decorations with the click of a button. You can set up the plug and connect it to wifi on your phone using the Kasa app. Once you complete setup, make sure that your Kasa account is linked to Alexa and/or Google Assistant if you would like to control your lights with the platform automation of your choosing or would like to control the plugs with your voice.
What we really like about this plug is that you can control each plug individually. You don’t have to turn both plugs on at once, and it only takes up one outlet. Also, you get the addition of IPX7 water resistance. With this, you can make sure that your lights are always shining bright overnight. For $25, it is quite the bang for the buck. Also, if you were curious, the price went down to $20 on Black Friday and Cyber Monday! It may not seem like an amazing deal, but it really is a pretty great product. We are making a full review very soon, so be sure to expect that here soon!
Magic Hue RGB Fairy String Lights
Using the Magic Hue String lights, you are able to cover your bushes or trees with colorful and controllable lights. Using either a remote or your phone, you are able to control the color, brightness, and synchronization. You can even have the lights change to music that you play on your phone using the companion app. These lights are IP67 rated, so there is no reason to worry about waterproofing or breaking from the cold weather.
Because these lights are controllable via Wifi, you can use any of your favorite smart assistants using its integration with the assistants themselves, along with IFTTT, which can help you link the lights to almost anything. You could have the lights turn on when you get a text message even! The sky is truely the limit with these lights, and if you want to go cheaper (or use your exsisting lights) just grab a TP-Link Smart Plug from above and you’ll be all set.
J.LUMI Outdoor LED Spotlight
Spotlights are nothing really special. They are pretty basic overall. Some people like to use projectors to project decoration animations on their whole house, but a spotlight is really nice to have if you don’t want anything that will stand out. This light is not wifi controllable, but again, if you pair it with a TP-Link Smart Plug, you can have it turn on in the event that your smart doorbell detects motion using IFTTT.
You can mount the device using the stake and you can put it on the ground with its IP65 water resistance, however, that’s not the only way that you can mount it! You can also detach the spotlight from the stake and mount it on your wall with the included wall-mounting kit. The device only costs around $12, and considering how basic it is, the price matches. It isn’t meant to be colorful and amazing, and that’s okay. If you just want a cheap and easy way to light up your front door, then this is the way.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the many methods possible for making your outdoor lighting smart to celebrate the holiday season, however, these all follow the same basic structure. As long as the power can be controlled remotely, using a smart plug, the lights do not need to be smart themselves. That is only for the convience of changing colors from your Google Assistant or your mobile device. Anyway, we hope that the christmas lighting tips and tricks inspired some of your decisions this year for your holiday lighting and how to make it special. Happy Holidays!
If you’re curious in upgrading your wifi system for more coverage, but you don’t want to spend too much money, then take a look at our review of the TP-Link Deco M3 Wifi System that you can buy for about $120! We thought that it was really good and you should give it a shot. If you want to discuss more about this article, you can check out the NTG Developer Forum and comment below if you think that we could have better suggestions.
